Sterne test for Phuket pack
South Africa’s Richard Sterne takes a one-shot lead over England’s Oliver Wilson into the final round of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket after carding an eight under par round at the Blue Canyon Country Club.
Sterne shot a bogey-free 64 for the second successive round while Wilson dropped a shot at the par-three 17th to slip to 12 under.
Anton Haig, who played with Wilson in the final pair, is a further shot back after also bogeying the 221-yard penultimate hole.
“I’ve come off two good tournaments in South Africa. I won one and finished second there, so my confidence was high,” said Sterne, who was playing alongside Hartlepool’s Graeme Storm.
“On Thursday things just didn’t go my way. The last two days, they have. No bogeys and 16 birdies, it just sorted of ended up nicely. I think my score is pretty much the lowest I have had in professional golf.”
World number eight Retief Goosen is eight under after a carding a disappointing 72 following back-to back 68’s, with Colin Montgomerie and Storm a further shot adrift.
Goosen struggled for consistency throughout his round and bogeyed the last to finish on level par for the day despite collecting six birdies.
Montgomerie carded a two-under-par 70, having suffered a double bogey at the par-four 16th before ending his round with two birdies.
England’s Simon Hurd leapt up the leaderboard after a six-under-par round to join Ernie Els and Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher at six under.
The St Albans golfer, who now lives near Bangkok, only narrowly avoiding the cut and so was out in the first pairing with Edward Michaels.
Hurd was two under for the front nine, despite a bogey at the par-four eighth, before four birdies on the way home handed the 31-year-old a third round 66.
“It was a nice round; I played well and putted good. It came as quite a surprise, I played well in the first few weeks but in the last two weeks I’ve not scored very well,” said Hurd.
“I got on a roll early doors, made a good two at the second, which is a real tough flag, and that kick-started me from there. I played solid after that and hit 15 greens.
“I asked my caddie yesterday on the 17th to tell me if I need to be told how close to the cut I was. He told me on my last putt that I had to putts from 15 feet, so that was nice. I really grinded to make the cut and when you shoot a score like today, it makes it all worthwhile.”
Gallacher, who plummeted down the leaderboard following a four-over second round, recovered with a 68.
Canadian Mike Weir, who also narrowly avoided the cut yesterday, shot a 68 to move to four under while Australian Adam Scott, a former Johnnie Walker Classic winner, moved to three under after a 70.
